VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
• Identifying and recruiting support personnel who would benefit from this
training and use it with the children they support
• Continued need to educate administrators on the need for and the role of
interveners
• Access to reliable technology for the students for the online coursework
In conclusion, the students who completed the program were very satisfied with
the quality and content of the coursework and felt it provided them with the
knowledge and skills to better support children who are deafblind.
Julie Maier, San Francisco State University
Since the Fall of 2020 San Francisco State University (SFSU) and California
Deafblind Services, an OSEP-funded state deafblind project, have collaborated to
offer a two-semester online, university-based training program to prepare
paraeducators to effectively serve learners who are deafblind (i.e., a child who is
both deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired). As in many states across
the country, California's need for interveners, or paraeducators with specialized
knowledge and skills in deafblindness, is higher than the available trained
individuals who are ready to fill these roles. Trained interveners allow school
districts and agencies to effectively meet the unique individualized support needs
of students who benefit from intervention services.
